Ixworth Walk

The weather was a bit murky but rain wasn't forecast till later so we decided to do a post-brunch walk. I thought it would be nice to do one we hadn't done before, so I had a look in my AA 50 Walks in Suffolk book and selected number 30 - Ixworth and Pakenham. Curiously, although we had been to Ixworth many times (particulalry to eat at The Pyckkerell) we had never walked from there (although I did pass through on the Theatre Royal 200 for 200 last day walk last April). Perfect.

This was our route:

Pretty much as in the book, but with a little extra visit to Mickle Mere bird hide. Here are a few of my photos.

We started from Ixworth Village Hall Car Park and headed past the impressive St. Mary's church...

... and Ixworth Abbey, a Georgian mansion built around the ruins of a 12th Century Augustinian Priory.

We crossed the Black Bourn a couple of times.

There was an optional shortcut on the route, but we were glad we hadn't taken it when we came across these deer.

What sort of deer are they? They look like Fallow deer to me, but I'm no expert (to say the least).

We had a bit of a muddy path in places, e.g. here as we come to Gameclose Covert.

... but it was nothing like as bad as the recent Norton Walk, and once we were past this bit we were on firm surfaces and back lanes.

Our first view of the Windmill.

We walked right past it....

...and then down to Fulmer bridge, "a bucolic spot of meadows and streams", according to the book.

We soon arrived at the Water Mill.

Dawn hadn't seen the topiaries before.

We took a little detour.

Plenty of birds on the mere.

It's snowdrop time of year.

Soon we were heading back into Ixworth with a final view of the windmill.

Another crossing of the Black Bourn....

...and we were back in the centre of the village.

We measured at about 5 miles rather than the published 4 1/2, but it was close enough. And the rain didn't start until we were on our way home. I think we'll have to do more from the book.

You can see more details of our route here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.

Sailors' Path Snape to Aldeburgh

This was the invite from Joyce...

"An extra walk Friday 24th January : A repeat of last week's excursion to Snape and Aldeburgh. Meet at Skyliner Sports Centre at 9am and head to Snape Maltings for a coffee to start. Journey is about 65 minutes so we should arrive at 10.05am. Leave Cafe about 10.30am and arrive at Aldeburgh by 12.30pm. We can have a very quick look round Aldeburgh (an hour) and eat a sarnie, have a drink and then I'd like to be back at our cars about 3.45pm so we are back at Skyliner for 5pm. 12 miles."

This was our route:

The leaflet our walk followed can be found here. We took the optional longer toute.

Here are some of my photos and a bit of commentary.

It was one of those dreary grey mizzly winter days, but somehow it was rather atmospheric. I couldn't help thinking of the wonderful Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten, which I studied for 'O' level music, as capturing the ambience.

We met at Snape Maltings just before 10, as planned. After a cup of coffee at the Granary Tea Shop, we started by crossing the River Alde, also known here as Curlew River (the name of another Benjamin Britten piece), and walking along the other side, with nice views of the historic quay boats and buildings.

The reeds are tall and orangey.

Looking back at The Maltings concert hall.

There were plenty of birds enjoying the mud-flats.

The Sailors' Path uses some of the Suffolk Coastal Path and Sandlings Walk.

Some Scots pines with their distinctive silhouettes.

We also walked through some birch woods.

Periodically, we got nice views of the winding River Alde estuary.

Eventually we came to the road and crossed by the Golf Club. We didn't quite follow the marked route here by going through the Golf Club car park instead along Golf Lane, bur we soon re-joined it....

...passing some snowdrops on the way.

We passed the Red House, which was Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears' home. The Britten-Pears Foundation is a major heritage site and archive based at The Red House It is open to visit in the afternoons from Tuesdays to Sundays between March and the end of Ocotber.

Nearby we found a commemorative post.

The quote is from the poem by Tennyson, used in the Nocturne from Britten's Serenade for Tenor Horn and Strings..

After we crossed a couple of golf fairways, the road, went along Warren Hill Lane, and crossed the path Dawn and I took on our Aldeburgh and Thorpeness Circular walk last August, we got some misty views in the distance of Sizewell Power Station...

...Thorpeness Gatehouse...

...The House in the Clouds...

...and Thorpeness Windmill, looking very monochromatic.

We got to the seafront about 1/3 way from Aldeburgh to Thorpness and headed to the town...

..past the famous Maggy Hambling scallop sculpture, a memorial to Benjamin Britten and with a quote from his opera Peter Grimes ‘I hear those voices that will not be drowned’.

We saw the sights including the Moot Hall...

...before stopping for drinks at the Two Magpies Cafe.

Before we headed back, I just had to get some sausage and chips from the Fish & Chip Shop.

We passed some daffodils...

...before we rejoined the route we had come along, back past the estuary...

..and some birds on the telegraph wires...

before arriving back where we started, nicely on time.

Thanks Joyce for doing a re-run for us to join and everyone for the company.

You can see more of our route here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.